Caterham going.... Bike as compensation- which one???
Discussion
Hello all,
Good news = first child arrived safe & well!
Sad News = Caterham going on market next week- cash in bank to give us a buffer.
Compensatory news- I'm going to get me a bike!
As a youth, I was massively into cycling- especially in the early 90's. The interest wore off once I got my driving license. Sadly need to sell the Caterham to bank some cash, but have managed to negotiate a concession with SWMBO, that I can get myself a half-decent bike. I have a 12 year old mountain bike with no suspension... Have been out on it quite a bit recently and reckon I could get back into cycling in quite a way.
Question is, what do I go for, road, hybrid, full suspension or the other one (hardtail?)???
I live in rural shropshire with plenty of good tracks, lanes and proper hilly areas, so could have a lot of fun. I also enjoy going as fast as possible on the road (with minimal effort)...
Budget = undecided... I don't want to get massively carried away and have 'up to £1k' in my mind to get fully kitted out
Any tips or suggestions much appreciated!
Charley
Good news = first child arrived safe & well!
Sad News = Caterham going on market next week- cash in bank to give us a buffer.
Compensatory news- I'm going to get me a bike!
As a youth, I was massively into cycling- especially in the early 90's. The interest wore off once I got my driving license. Sadly need to sell the Caterham to bank some cash, but have managed to negotiate a concession with SWMBO, that I can get myself a half-decent bike. I have a 12 year old mountain bike with no suspension... Have been out on it quite a bit recently and reckon I could get back into cycling in quite a way.
Question is, what do I go for, road, hybrid, full suspension or the other one (hardtail?)???
I live in rural shropshire with plenty of good tracks, lanes and proper hilly areas, so could have a lot of fun. I also enjoy going as fast as possible on the road (with minimal effort)...
Budget = undecided... I don't want to get massively carried away and have 'up to £1k' in my mind to get fully kitted out
Any tips or suggestions much appreciated!
Charley
you really need to do a lot more research and find out what sor t of riding you are going to doing most often. a full sus mtb will be a chore on the road but a hoot on trails, like wise a road bike will only every be of value of you dont want to explore off road. a hardtail is a good compromise, £1000 will get you very good bike.
personally, a cyclocross bike would seem ideal, fast on road and capable of way more than people imagine off road. have a look at the cannondale, boardman and kenesis offerings. when you get up to speed on one its a real test of the senses.
personally, a cyclocross bike would seem ideal, fast on road and capable of way more than people imagine off road. have a look at the cannondale, boardman and kenesis offerings. when you get up to speed on one its a real test of the senses.
Am I right in thinking that you can get full-suspension bikers where the suspension locks out on road? If so, am I right in thinking that these are 'trail bikes'?
Whenever I have riden other peoples' bikes with suspension, it has irritated me how much energy appears to be transferred to the suspension rather than the wheels- or is that just an illusion?
Also, am i right in thinking wider diameter wheels = greater top speed but slightly less agility?
A friend has recommended a Giant Anthem x4... He has just bought a 2011 model for £1k and reckons they have one more in stock...
lots of questions & help much appreciated!
Whenever I have riden other peoples' bikes with suspension, it has irritated me how much energy appears to be transferred to the suspension rather than the wheels- or is that just an illusion?
Also, am i right in thinking wider diameter wheels = greater top speed but slightly less agility?
A friend has recommended a Giant Anthem x4... He has just bought a 2011 model for £1k and reckons they have one more in stock...
lots of questions & help much appreciated!
I would recommend a Cyclocross bike for what you have described (as long as you are not planning on jumps, big drops etc).
I have just bought a Cannondale CAADX and it is a really great bike, very smooth, very light and very comfy. The gearing is a good compromise between a road and mtb, climbing is much easier than a road bike, but slightly slower. Also, it goes without saying that you will spin out sooner than a dedicated road bike, but for me this is not a worry – I have still managed 36 mph without losing drive.
I can happily average 18-20 mph on the road despite the 35mm semi-slick tyres, but can still hack along a tow path, forest trail or across a field at a good speed and take in little technical bits. A couple of weeks ago when I first took delivery of the bike I took it for a 68 mile hack, quite a bit of tarmac, several miles of muddy Thames footpath and a good 8 or so miles of gravel path – all of it in relative comfort and at an average of a shade over 17 mph!
http://app.strava.com/activities/5018348
I am quite lucky that I have a very understanding wife and as a result have a steel hardtail, a full susser, and road bike and the CX bike. H/T and susser are used for trail centres, dedicated XC rides etc, road bike for ‘head down’ road riding. The CX is the most flexible and a good compromise in terms of ability, comfort and opening up the ability to have a nice long, mixed surface ride that means the road is not hard work, and XC is not off limits.
Give is some thought, and nip along to your LBS and have a sit on one, you might be surprised!
I have just bought a Cannondale CAADX and it is a really great bike, very smooth, very light and very comfy. The gearing is a good compromise between a road and mtb, climbing is much easier than a road bike, but slightly slower. Also, it goes without saying that you will spin out sooner than a dedicated road bike, but for me this is not a worry – I have still managed 36 mph without losing drive.
I can happily average 18-20 mph on the road despite the 35mm semi-slick tyres, but can still hack along a tow path, forest trail or across a field at a good speed and take in little technical bits. A couple of weeks ago when I first took delivery of the bike I took it for a 68 mile hack, quite a bit of tarmac, several miles of muddy Thames footpath and a good 8 or so miles of gravel path – all of it in relative comfort and at an average of a shade over 17 mph!
http://app.strava.com/activities/5018348
I am quite lucky that I have a very understanding wife and as a result have a steel hardtail, a full susser, and road bike and the CX bike. H/T and susser are used for trail centres, dedicated XC rides etc, road bike for ‘head down’ road riding. The CX is the most flexible and a good compromise in terms of ability, comfort and opening up the ability to have a nice long, mixed surface ride that means the road is not hard work, and XC is not off limits.
Give is some thought, and nip along to your LBS and have a sit on one, you might be surprised!
Tough call
The best answer so far is probably the Allez plus MTB option which should scrape under a grand but wont leave anything for 'stuff'
'Stuff' = helmet, shoes, pedals, tools, clothes, etc etc etc etc etc
My own opinions:
Cycocross bike = compromise, dont bother (although having road and MTB actually really want one myself)
Hybrid bike = compromise dont bother
Full suss MTB = dubious at this price point
So its a hardtail MTB or a road bike
Massive difference, sorry but you need to choose
My own experience was getting into MTB after years off as I was too chicken to ride on the road
That was until the day when I blagged a road bike and did the last 5km up a Pyrenee on holiday and became absolutely hooked
The grown up answer is do you have mates who ride and if so what then go and buy a bike like theirs
The best motivation I had for fitness is chasing mates and being determined to beat them one day
Best of luck
Bikes are cool, although whenever I meet a Caterham usually swoon that they have more carbon fibre than me
I'd be going with a nice light hardtail.
You can after a time get a spare set of wheels and kit them out with slicks for road only outings.
For last couple of years I've been off-roading on a Specialized HT carbon, not the most comfortable when it came to technical downhill stuff, but very fast. I then started to commute on it and quickly bought some narrow slicks....and it did the job well, (but looked a bit odd).
So I jumped on the cycle to Work scheme and got myself a Bianchi Nerone Tiagra, £1000 with shoes/pedals etc and I just felt sure that my 8 mile each way commute would be done MUCH quicker.
It wasn't
So in summary a good hardtail can see you through a variety of different uses with minimal changes IMO.
Cyclo cross and Hybrids are compromises, cyclo cross maybe worth a test ride though?
Full sus is overkill unless you intend to get properly muddy alot of the time.
You can after a time get a spare set of wheels and kit them out with slicks for road only outings.
For last couple of years I've been off-roading on a Specialized HT carbon, not the most comfortable when it came to technical downhill stuff, but very fast. I then started to commute on it and quickly bought some narrow slicks....and it did the job well, (but looked a bit odd).
So I jumped on the cycle to Work scheme and got myself a Bianchi Nerone Tiagra, £1000 with shoes/pedals etc and I just felt sure that my 8 mile each way commute would be done MUCH quicker.
It wasn't
So in summary a good hardtail can see you through a variety of different uses with minimal changes IMO.
Cyclo cross and Hybrids are compromises, cyclo cross maybe worth a test ride though?
Full sus is overkill unless you intend to get properly muddy alot of the time.
I would go road bike and MTB.
As others have said you can get a decent used Allez quite easily, budget around £350 for something mint. Alternatively a used Boardman Road Comp?
That will leave you £500 for a mountain bike and £150 for stuff. When you then decide which floats your boat more you can sell one/other/both and choose something more specific?
As others have said you can get a decent used Allez quite easily, budget around £350 for something mint. Alternatively a used Boardman Road Comp?
That will leave you £500 for a mountain bike and £150 for stuff. When you then decide which floats your boat more you can sell one/other/both and choose something more specific?
Thanks all for tips
I spent a good couple of hours in a decent local bike shop- Dave Mellor Cycles, Shrewsbury today. Having spoken with them, I'm probably going to go down the Hardtail XC route.
I have pretty much narrowed it down to choice of 3:
2012 Specialised RockHopper Expert £800 before negotiation
2012 Cannondale SL3 £750 before negotiation
2012 Giant XTC 3 £850 before negotiation
OR:
2011 Giant XTC 1 £1000 absolute best price (original RSP at £1695)
Having done a fair bit of online research, the Giant offerings always seem to do well in reviews. The XTC 1 seems to be one hell of a lot of bike for the money... Once I get all the other gear, it will take me over my £1k budget... Key question is whether the it would be worth the extra £200 over the xtc-3?
As part of my talking myself into this, I would not be looking to upgrade any components for a longer period of time...
Any further points or ideas much appreciated!
I spent a good couple of hours in a decent local bike shop- Dave Mellor Cycles, Shrewsbury today. Having spoken with them, I'm probably going to go down the Hardtail XC route.
I have pretty much narrowed it down to choice of 3:
2012 Specialised RockHopper Expert £800 before negotiation
2012 Cannondale SL3 £750 before negotiation
2012 Giant XTC 3 £850 before negotiation
OR:
2011 Giant XTC 1 £1000 absolute best price (original RSP at £1695)
Having done a fair bit of online research, the Giant offerings always seem to do well in reviews. The XTC 1 seems to be one hell of a lot of bike for the money... Once I get all the other gear, it will take me over my £1k budget... Key question is whether the it would be worth the extra £200 over the xtc-3?
As part of my talking myself into this, I would not be looking to upgrade any components for a longer period of time...
Any further points or ideas much appreciated!
Hoping to have a ride of all 4 on Saturday... Will be interesting if you can 'feel' any difference between the 2012 XTC 3 & 2011 XTC 1- especially with the latter having 2x original RSP...
Also plan to try a 29er whilst there
Two good pals have both acquired GIANT bikes in the last 2 months. Both have 2011 models- 1x XTC3 & 1x Anthem X4- these are the guys I will probably do most of my cycling with- so we should have fairly well matched bikes all told!
Getting rather excited!
Also plan to try a 29er whilst there
Two good pals have both acquired GIANT bikes in the last 2 months. Both have 2011 models- 1x XTC3 & 1x Anthem X4- these are the guys I will probably do most of my cycling with- so we should have fairly well matched bikes all told!
Getting rather excited!
Sounds like they'd be good people to ask about what they'd do in your situation, what their experience of 2011 Giants has been like and what they think of their respective groupsets and kit etc...
You must've done that right? and I suspect you know what's going to happen, result wise....
You must've done that right? and I suspect you know what's going to happen, result wise....
its quite likely the xtc 1 and 3 will share the same frame so the only difference will be components. the fork will make the biggest difference as i would assume its a better spec on the better model. however you will need to give it a good test over different terrain to really feel the difference though, and if its adjustable, it will need to be set up for you, not your mate as its performance is dependant upon your weight, preferred rebound rate etc etc. in short, it will be hard to really see a difference between the twoo but it sounds like you have a good bike for the money.
agreed, so the extra £150 will be for a different colour scheme and the odd component that won't need upgrading as quickly... plus the kudos of having the higher end kit..none of which in reality you're likely to notice the benefit of...
but realistically when has that stopped a man paying a bit extra...
"My car has unobtanium spark plugs, an air filter box made from carbon fibre and my gear knob is solid Magnesium...."
"Feel the bemfits?"
"oh god yeah..."
It's all very well getting fit riding a bike and having fun, but the little feeling of having a better bike than you might've otherwise bought, whether you notice it or not...is a very nice,warm and fuzzy feeling to have.....in fact it's necessary IMO.
but realistically when has that stopped a man paying a bit extra...
"My car has unobtanium spark plugs, an air filter box made from carbon fibre and my gear knob is solid Magnesium...."
"Feel the bemfits?"
"oh god yeah..."
It's all very well getting fit riding a bike and having fun, but the little feeling of having a better bike than you might've otherwise bought, whether you notice it or not...is a very nice,warm and fuzzy feeling to have.....in fact it's necessary IMO.
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